What I meant was that according to the theory as I understood it, mirror neurons are required to develop "empathy." Cats and dogs, not just hoidy-toidy gorillas, appear to have empathy. Do they have these neurons or not?
(PS are there any known cases of autism in nonhuman species? Such an animal would obviously die quickly in the wild.)
--- Jerry Monaco <monacojerry at gmail.com> wrote:
> It seems to me, Chris, that you are confusing
> necessary conditions
> with sufficient conditions. Mirror neurons may be
> necessary to
> develop "empathy" like feelings for the minds and
> senses of others,
> but they may not be sufficient. Other mental and
> physical processes
> are also involved. Empathy like feelings may be
> necessary to put us
> on the road to the development of the mind/brain
> processes that
> produce language but it is not sufficient. Chimps
> may display what we
> would call empathy when displayed by humans but that
> does not mean
> they have the other mind/brain capacities to develop
> language.
>
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